Adolescent chickens

The chickens act very much as a flock. This may well be because they were all part of the same group when they were raised so they have always been together. We've not had any squabbling - although I'm sure we would if we introduced strangers. They all tend to do the same thing at the same time. In the picture above, all four of them had squashed onto the small perch. I rushed inside for the camera but by then, one had decided to come down.
The green garden chair you can see on the left and side of the run (on its side so that the rain drains off) has become part of the Chicken Gym. They love to perch on it and use it as a staging post to fly onto the hen-house roof. I hadn't appreciated until we got them how 3 dimensional they are. And to think that our original run design would have been 3 feet high, with access panels in the roof. There would have been no opportunity for the flapping and perching up high which they so much enjoy.


Over the time we've had them I think we've only had one sunny day and this is Amber's first 'dip' in the sand pit. Even in the dismal, damp weather we've been having, they really love to flap and play dead in here, sometimes several at a time!

Like typical teenagers, they haven't been keen to go to bed. Initially, once the pop-hole had closed, we had to round up 2 or even 3 strays who had gone into the house and then come back out of it again! Last night however, all 4 went up to bed like good girls. Himself said, all dewy eyed, "I'm quite proud of them." Yes, chicken keeping gets you like that!